Designing Dinky Dawgs_08

I've been through the whole permits, municipality, bureaucracy process of opening a restaurant in the city of Vancouver twice in my day - it's insane. Takes weeks to process and the entire fiasco is nuts. In Whistler all I had to do was EXACTLY what I was told to do and EVERYONE & EVERYTHING fell into place just like that in a few days! Super helpful & cooperative folks that are there to support your venture and welcome you into the community. It's amazing actually. I feel so humbled to be able to enjoy the ultimate lifestyle in the such an incredible place like Whistler. I want to grow with our business and take my time in grooming it to be the best fast food option in town. I hired some staff, met a ton of people and connected with my old stomping grounds - again. The vibe is so sweet, everyone has dough, everyone is happy and everyone is there to enjoy themselves and live a great life - that now includes me! Wheeeeeee!

Designing Dinky Dawgs 07

People were walking by non stop - Everyone wants a Dinky Dawg!



Here's Joel and Steve packing up the gear to take up to Whistler, hope the roads are ok, it's getting late and we are in Langley, Hmmmmmmm we'll see. ; /




Man - How about driving up to Whistler in a massive cube truck with 3000 lbs of Fridges in the back in a fricken snow storm?! Crazy roads - It was quite the trip - I really felt like Han Solo! lol

Designing Dinky Dawgs_06

Man I love to draw fun shit all day. Dinky Dawgs has an entire legion of these little bastards that we will be featuring in all kinds of applications as we grow and market the brand in all kinds of mediums. The idea here is to connect with different dawg fans - pretty simple actually. Still having fun, what can I say ;P

Designing Dinky Dawgs_05

We are officially live online. Our new Website is up and running, still tuning a few kinks - Big props to our boy Joel Kinman for throwing down some sick code and making it fun to explore and visit over and over.

Designing Dinky Dawgs_04

Francois and I are still having a blast banging all of these animations out. They are all ready to go, I will reveal them all in their glory once when we have a final render done this week. Awesome.

Designing Dinky Dawgs_03

Finally I can let loose with some wild nonsense and have some fun making silly ads to sell hot dawgs. I have been dreaming about making some viral spots hoping 1 or 2 might stick and get people laughing - here's a few to get the ball rolling ;)

Dinky Dawgs - Making Animated Menus

The process continues with Francois co-founder of EXILE VFX in Gastown. We are so fortunate to have some serious talent aboard this project. I am well up for creating all the art and working the visual direction for DD, but - let's be honest, I can only do so much and that's when my bro Francois jumps in and throw down with some slick animated billboards and effects. Merci Beucoupe Mon Ami! C'est Fantastique!

Building a Brand...

There are so many awesome elements to creating the brand, vibe & all the images for Dinky Dawgs. This all came very naturally to me - I saw it all as clear as I do now. I wanted something that reminded me of when I was a kid in the 70's. Like the way DQ used to market themselves with Dennis the Menace, the Ronald McDonald Gang, Peanuts, Family Circus with a little modern Marvel edge to it. It's taking shape fast and I'm sprung on some sick artwork. Shouts out to JJ for the cartoon jam!

DINKY DAWGS WHISTLER BC...

I moved to Whistler when I was a kid in 1991. Young and driven by the beauty of the mountains and the people on the West Coast, I worked in a few bars, hit the mountain as much as possible and lived the life of a Whistler local to the core. I then moved to Vancouver and built my career as a Commercial Artist/ Designer over the last 20 years. 90% of what I know I learned in the past 10 years. I have invented some crazy things in the past and taken some serious shots at some wild business ideas, some of them worked, most didn't. But the thing that stayed with me the whole time, outside of my addiction to create - was simple. Always see your ideas through fruition no matter what. Get it all down on paper and wait for no one. Everyone will say you are crazy, no one will help, no one has money and your ideas are far fetched and too risky. If you discover these truths on your own in the process of chasing your dreams, YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK.

This month I move back to Whistler and open Dinky Dawgs - The first Gourmet Hot Dawg Boutique of it's kind. Using every talent I ever had, I have designed an incredible product for the Locals and Tourists of Whistler to enjoy for years to come. I want to give a shout out to my partner Bruce Wayne, and thank him for believing in me and taking a chance on a kid from Whistler. Much love and respect to my friends and family worldwide. I hope to see you all in beautiful Whistler this season. I'll be the happiest brown guy in the village, serving Dinky Dawgs. ;)